Considering HPSP

[Prozach]

Hello everyone,

I'm a current junior in undergrad, and am considering HPSP as the way to go for medical school. The military has been something that every male on my father's side of the family has done, and I really do feel that it provides a unique, character building opportunity. In fact, I could easily see myself content making a career out of a position in the armed forces. Obviously, this opinion is made from my current perspective, and perhaps that will change for the worse as many of the posts in this section would indicate. Nevertheless, I still think the overall package of the HPSP program is appealing, on levels that reach beyond the money (but that helps too ).

Anyway, I really have gotten thoroughly confused about payback obligations. At the moment, I don't forsee myself going into some super specialized residency program. Again, this is outlook is constructed on nothing but a gut feeling, but that is really all I have to go on at the moment. It is possible that plans may change, perhaps dramatically. So allow me to give you a scenario based on my current thoughts, and hopefully someone here will be able to tell me exactly how the payback works. I spoke with an army recruiter at my school, and if people listened to him they'd be running to join the army in droves. He seriously made it sound like it was a day at an amusement park. He's clearly just telling me what I want to hear, so I am going to a neutral third party (you ).

Let's say I entered a four year medical program with HPSP footing the bill. I graduated, and did my FYGME. It is now that my payback begins, correct? So if I entered a 3 year IM residency at a military hospital, I could be a reservist and accrue a 2 year reservist payback. I still have 2 years on reserve left, and 4 years AD. Let's say that at this point I went ahead with a two year IM subspecialty fellowship, could I continue to payback my reservist duty if I did this fellowship at an army hospital? If so, I would have 4 years AD to payback. I then could enter the army as specialist. Work for four years, and then I'd be on Inactive Ready Reserve for eight additional years. However, these eight years I'm free to do whatever I want, barring those forces from being called up.

Assuming the Army HPSP, is this a reasonable expectation of how the system may work?

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[RichL025]

Errr, I got confused trying to sort through your hypothetical.

Payback begins after your training has finished. Payback consists of either how long the Army paid for HPSP (4 yrs for most people) or how long your post-graduate training was, whichever is longer.

If you have breaks in training (ie, GMO tour, or fellowhsip after a utilization tour) the above formula doesn't quite work, but it holds for most scenarios.

 

[Mirror Form]

I spoke with an army recruiter at my school, and if people listened to him they'd be running to join the army in droves. He seriously made it sound like it was a day at an amusement park. He's clearly just telling me what I want to hear, so I am going to a neutral third party (you ).

Very smart, recruiters will lie! Furthermore, even if you did happen to meet an honest recruiter, most of them know nothing about medicine, residency training, etc. So you can't expect to get useful answers from them.

Let's say I entered a four year medical program with HPSP footing the bill. I graduated, and did my FYGME. It is now that my payback begins, correct? So if I entered a 3 year IM residency at a military hospital, I could be a reservist and accrue a 2 year reservist payback. I still have 2 years on reserve left, and 4 years AD. Let's say that at this point I went ahead with a two year IM subspecialty fellowship, could I continue to payback my reservist duty if I did this fellowship at an army hospital? If so, I would have 4 years AD to payback. I then could enter the army as specialist. Work for four years, and then I'd be on Inactive Ready Reserve for eight additional years. However, these eight years I'm free to do whatever I want, barring those forces from being called up.

Assuming the Army HPSP, is this a reasonable expectation of how the system may work?

I'm completely confused by that above paragraph. First, I wasn't aware that you could be a reservist while also being active duty and in a military residency program. And even if you could . . . why???

If you don't get stuck doing a gmo tour, then residency is usually a wash in terms of commitment (i.e., you enter owing four years, and leave owing four years). However, if you do a gmo tour then residency will usually add to your commitment (eg enter owing 2 years, graduate residency owing three or more). However, if you do a long residency, then it will greatly increase your obligation. This has actually been discussed before, so try doing a search if you'd rather have a more cogent response. I'm an intern and don't have time to type clearly.

 

[blankguy]

Hi,
I've been wondering about the Army HSPS.
How hard is it to get HSPS when you get accepted to dental or medical school?
Do they really pay for everything, that is tuition and related expenses?

 

[Galo]

Prozach,

This is certainly a biased opinion from someone who lived it for 6 years. My advice is to loose the recruiters name and listed to what people who went throught this have to say to you.

Now, unless you want to go into the Army for a specific reason of being an officer, that is all you will be. You cannot, CANNOT be a truly dedicated physician, especially in a highly complex field like surgery/ medical subspecialties, and be anywhere the top of your field, because you will have not support, and believe it or not, patients.

Military medicine is collapsing rapidly, and they will not stop recruiting till they've closed all the hospitals. I urge you to look at the top stickies about why not to join. I can tell you briefly that you will loose some of your civil rights, you will loose the choice of where you want to live, what medications you want to allow into your body, (anthrax vaccine and many more coming down the pike), and you may not be able to practice the branch of medicine that you wanted, or may not get to finish the residency that you started.

Look at my post on the decline of military medicine, and the accompaning lecture given by the consultant to the surgeon general. All that the military services will be good at in the near future is primary care.

As for your payback, it depends on what they are currently offering. Usually its a 4 year commitment of active duty to be served concurrently with or sometimes after your finished, an 8 year inactive reserve commitment. That means that in a time of war, or when whoever deems necessary, your name is on a list, and whatever you're doing at the time means **** to them, and you will be on active duty.

Really think about this. Its not all the stars and stripes and god and glory they sell it to be. Its an incredibly large and very inept mediocre ingraned system that lives by its own rules, and the more rank you have, the more you can push others around and call it the needs of the military. I'd be glad to talk to you in person if you want a more two way conversation.

Good luck to you!!

Galo